TR4/4A Convertible top installation problem

[Sarastro]

I hope some of you might be able to provide some insight on this.

You can see from the attached pictures that there is a significant gap between the top and the door window on the left side. I didn't get the top centered perfectly, so the right side has no gap, but even if it were perfect I think there would be a small gap on both sides. The top just doesn't seem to be wide enough.

I depended strongly on installation information in Roger Williams' book, How to Restore Triumph TR2, 3, 4, 4A.

This is a Robbins vinyl top, bought from The Roadster Factory a couple years ago.

I am aware that the TR4 and TR4A tops are somewhat different, but I don't know the details. It's possible that the wrong top was delivered, but I still have the paperwork from the order, and it clearly references a TR4A top.

Any ideas as to what went wrong, and what I could do to fix it?

 

[CJD]

Yeah, that will leak badly. On the TR2/3 the glass fits inside the sewn pocket. Is there any adjustment in the window mechanism to correct the top of the glass upward?

The rear of the left window looks (from the slight wrinkle in the top material) that it could be stretched forward by relocating a couple of the lift-a-dots.

 

[sp53]

The top looks very tight in the fit like it could be the wrong top. When I put a Robins top on my tr3, the top felt too small front and back and is too long on the sides, the opposite of your problem and I need to fix mine also. I did not like working with the Robins top, too tight too small

It looks to me in the photo that the second and third snap from the door are pulled back too far. The bows in the center look too tight. Maybe on a hot summer day you could hold the section over the doors down somehow with something and then push the bows up and try to stretch the vinyl down at the doors then leave the car in the sun for a while.
steve

 

[Popeye]

Yes, the window tops should slide into the pockets when closed. This keeps water out (mostly ). It would be interesting to see the top of the window at the a-pillar - is the window going up far enough?

Having said this: I had to stretch my top all kinds of ways to get it to fit well. Ultimately it does fit very well, but I was sore after installing it! The top was hot and soft: I used a heated blanket on the outside plus a space heater inside the car. I pulled hard outward when mounting the rear edge. I pulled hard both forward and to the sides when attaching the leading edge. Then pulled the rear windows down and foward to match the door glass.

The Robbin’s material shrinks over time. If your top is more than a few years old, it might need additional stretching (heat and muscle). For the same reason it is recommended to keep the top up in the winter.

 

[Sarastro]

Thanks for your thoughts.

This is a new top, installed two years ago. The wrinkle in the corner windows is from the snaps, which just don't hold. I have parts to replace them with something that will, but that's a separate problem.

I suspect that I have the wrong top, and I was hoping that someone would confirm that, or suddenly tell me of something I did wrong in the installation. If I have the wrong top, I can replace it, but I don't want to spend the $450 unless I'm sure that's the problem.

 

[sp53]

Perhaps you call contact Robins and they can tell you the difference between a tr4 and tr4a. I would think the difference is not much, if any.

 

[mctriumph]

Even the "best" tops are only so so in this era. I have bought really expensive tops from
The UK and had iffy results, and worse service. If you have a lot of time and $$ try Skinner
The tops are the best of a bad lot, but the service(in my experience) was poor.They did a zip-out
for my Tr3. But send hardware for a Tr2, and never made it right.
Mad dog

 

[Sarastro]

Well, I never was overwhelmed with optimism when buying new LBC parts. I make do, and tried to convince myself that I could live with the top as it is, but it's annoying me more and more as time goes on. Worse, I can't imagine any way to make it better. I think I could redo the installation and get the gap down to the minimum, but that's about all. And, then, I'd be left with a top with patched holes in it where the fittings were removed.

I looked into contacting Robbins, but like most big companies these days, it seems hard to get through to a real human. I probably should try again.

 

[sp53]

I purchased a top years back from these guys and they were nice to deal with and the top was cut different from Robbins. I also got wool carpets from them. They show the 4a and the 4 as different type; they might be able to help

Triumph TR 1953-1981 | Prestige Autotrim Products Ltd

Prestige Autotrim manufacture premium quality convertible tops, tonneau covers, carpet sets, seat covers & trim panels for Triumph TR

prestigeautotrim.com

 

[Sarastro]

Thanks for the link. I was not aware of Prestige. Their top is about the same price as Robbins, but of course there will be shipping from the UK. I'm tempted just to get one and replace mine.

One thing I can see from their pictures--the seam along the lower rear edge in mine is a lot higher. Lowering this strip might give me another half inch, which, with recentering it, might be enough. I may try that before I give up on this top.

 

[sp53]

I put pictures to show how the cut is different from the 2 tops. The Prestige top had a seam going along the front edge and the Robins does not. The Robins top probably seals better, but I find it too tight. I have not driven Robins topped car in the winter because I am still fighting the proper door closer and waiting for summer to try and fix it. I liked the idea Popeye had with the heater and heating blanket. Heck my hands cannot pull like they did, also.

 

[sp53]

I would say the lift dot fasteners can move around some without showing they have been moved.

 

[mctriumph]

You only have one real option to make it right .A good top/upholstery shop could re-do the driverside
panel and its weather seal to make it what it should have been. Having dealt with Robbins in the past,
I can say that they left me very unsatisfied to say the least.
Mad dog

 

[Sarastro]

Just one more post to describe the resolution of this problem.

In short, I got a Prestige top and installed it. When I looked at them on-line, they were on sale, so I got a new top for about $300, shipped, which I think is a very good price. It arrived promptly, but this point I don't remember exactly how long it took. I like the top; it looks good and is well made. Returning the old one to the Roadster Factory obviously was not an option; I will just eat the loss. It's not a big part of the restoration anyway, and I simply cannot live with the gap between the top and window.

Installation was a little difficult, more so than with the Robbins top. You will see a couple of ripples in the pictures; they look much worse in the pics than in real life, probably because of the overhead lighting in my garage. It took a lot of work to get it this good.